The present invention relates generally to cutting instruments, other knives and more particularly to surgical scalpels and having retractable blades.
It is well known that existing surgical cutting implements provide a significant potential for harm to surgeons and support personnel. That is, with attention directed toward the patient, rapid handling of surgical instruments with exposed sharp edges occasionally leads to cuts and puncture wounds, and more often to loss of integrity of surgical gloves. With increasing risk of life-threatening infectious diseases, it is imperative that such risks be minimized.
Utility knives having retractable blades are well known. The majority of such knives are operated utilizing actuating mechanisms located on the flat faces thereof. A relatively small number of knives having actuating mechanisms on their narrow edges are described. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,207,696 for "Surgical Scalpel ," which issued to Robert J. Matwijcow on May 4, 1993, the inventor describes a scalpel including a blade carrier and a blade shield equally movable in opposite longitudinal directions in response to longitudinal movement of an actuator along the upper edge of the scalpel housing. U. S. Pat. No. 3,577,637 for "Retractable Blade Knife," which issued to Fred A. Braginets on May 4, 1971 describes an industrial blade holder combination with the blade being mounted on a carrier and selectively movable to retracted and operative positions. Extending to the rear of the blade carrier is a flexible leaf spring portion carrying a manually engageable tab or fingerpiece connected to the spring portion by a rectangular, support. The leaf portion also carries a pair of upstanding latching lugs disposed to the side of the fingerpiece. Two opposed handle halves are cut away to form a longitudinally extending slot in the top edge thereof along which the rectangular portion of the fingerpiece may move. The handle halves also have cutaway portions extending longitudinally in the top edge to form opposed recesses into which the fingerpiece may be depressed to release the latching means. A similar actuating mechanism is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,621,425 for "Retractable Knife Handle," which issued to Carl C. Stautenberg on Nov. 11, 1986.
The blade slides described in these patents are complex and wide in order to accommodate the latching mechanisms, and consequently wide handle portions must be fabricated from more than one part in order to receive these complex slides.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide slender surgical scalpels and other knives having retractable blades which may be locked in either a deployed or a retracted position.
Another object of our invention is to provide slender surgical scalpels and other knives having retractable blades which may be locked in either. a deployed or a retracted position and which may be operated using one digit of one hand utilizing a digit-engaging tab located on the top edge thereof.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide slender surgical scalpels and other knives having retractable blades which may be locked in either a deployed or retracted position, but which cannot accidentally be deployed.
Still another object of our invention is to provide slender surgical scalpels and other knives having retractable blades for which standard, commercially-available blades are employed, and which have only three parts.
A further object of the invention is to provide slender surgical scalpels and other knives which are automatically retracted by depressing a finger-actuated tab on the top edge thereof.
Additional objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.